Finally we reach the game that took the number 1 spot in our top ten games of 2010, Mass Effect 2. A sci-fi, action-RPG masterpiece, this game well and truly deserves the top spot and all the prizes for everything it got right and the distinct lack of anything it got wrong.

As we reach the dizzying heights of number 2 on our 2010 countdown, we come to the bit that caused the longest debate. We always knew which 2 games we loved the most last year, but it took over an hour of heated debate to come to the ultimate conclusion… Red Dead Redemption is our runner-up…

Here we are at number 3 in the top ten games of 2010, with Heavy Rain a definite fully deserved winner of this spot. No game has ever made us feel quite so connected to the story, with every action resulting in a consequence, often in the most unbelievable way, and where every emotion of every character can really have an effect on your decision making skills.

As we continue through the top 5 of our countdown, we come to the game that we posted more about than any other game in the past year. Unquestionably the biggest indie hit of 2010, and it spent the majority of that year in alpha. This is Minecraft…

The number 6 spot goes to a game that went through a 183 year development cycle, delayed multiple times, infamously cancelled on the PC before finally releasing as an Xbox 360 exclusive. It was well worth the wait.

The Battlefield series has always been about the large-scale, team based death and destruction. But somehow, it’s never got the building demolition and tactical advantages of an RPG to the side of a house quite right. Until Bad Company 2 was released, that is…

Bioshock 2 was definitely a risky move for the developers to make after the brilliant success of its predecessor, since it’s often all too easy to ruin something great by creating a sequel. Obviously, we felt this wasn’t the case with Bioshock 2, because we bloody loved it.

Just Cause 2 is essentially an international super-spy-sim. Just think about all the amazingly stupendous and wacky scenes of coolness from any of your favourite spy movies, and then imagine being able to play tons of them out at your leisure. This is the ultimate secret-agent-super-hero game of 2010, and possibly ever.

Coming in 10th place in our Top Ten of 2010 is the gorgeous and completely memorable Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. To us, this underrated hidden gem was well worth knowing hardly anything about until it was released, because otherwise we would have been far too eager to play it for a long, long time.

2010 has been an amazing year for gaming, and the industry has never ceased to surprise and impress us with plenty of fantastic new games, be they mainstream or indie, there have been some bloody brilliant things to get our hands on this year.

To celebrate an epic year of gaming, we’ve gone through a surprisingly difficult process of deciding which games out of the 35+ greatest ones we could remember since January we thought were the best, and over the next 10 days we will be counting down our agreed-upon top ten video games for 2010.